Thoraiya DyerDisinfectants vs What’s In Your Mouth
May 12th 2008 00:35
“Wow, that floor was clean enough to eat off!”
That’s how the saying goes, right?
Peruse the aisles of the local supermarket and you will see products such as Palmolive Antibacterial Dishwashing Liquid, Sanaseat Flushable Anti-Bacterial Toilet Seat Wipes and Selleys Proactive Floor Cleaner. They all contain ingredients that kill “up to 99% of bacteria.”
They’re designed to make not just your floors, but your walls, your dishes and even your toilet seat clean enough to eat off!
But wait a minute. Didn’t we talk earlier about deliberately putting bacteria into yoghurt, and it being good for us? Obviously, not all bacteria are created equal. Are these disinfectants going to protect us from dangerous bacteria? Or can we do that simply by following a few basic hygiene rules?
Flynn Picardal, an associate professor in Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, reflects on the poor public image of bacteria, at Newsinfo ( Really Long Link ) :
“People typically think of bacteria in terms of disease, but only a small percentage of bacteria are harmful to human health. The vast majority perform vital environmental maintenance. Our existence really depends on bacteria, and our ability to clean up toxic environmental waste is going to depend on them too.”
At EMSL Analytical, Inc., there is a very handy glossary (Click here ) of various types of bacteria. You’ll note very few of them are harmful (“pathological”) to humans.
Some of them even sound cute, like Erwinia and Weeksella. You can imagine having a puppy called Weeksella. Awww. Weeksella, sit!
Another fascinating table, here ( Really Long Link ), from a Textbook of Bacteriology, shows how many bacteria live as normal flora on our skin and in our orifices, without hurting us and without us even knowing.
If you look in the column that says “mouth,” you’ll find a delightful bag of allsorts, including Staphylococcus (including the infamous golden staph), Streptococcus and Pseudomonas.
What’s the point of taking something from a clean and sterile plate (with your clean and sterile hands) and putting it into your Bacterial Zoo of a mouth?
If you don’t think the germs sound cute and you want to get rid of them, the Victorian Government assures us that ( Really Long Link ):
“Soap and water is just as effective. Healthy households do not need these products. Effective hand washing with soap and household cleaning using warm water and a plain detergent is the cheapest way to get rid of germs. Avoid antibacterial or antimicrobial products; they are more expensive, no more effective at cleaning and their widespread use may pose a wider health risk.”
What health risk are they talking about? The link between having sterile households and a dodgy immune system that reacts to non-dangerous substances (ie, allergies and asthma), of course!
“This is based on the observations that growing up in a large family, being in child care from a young age and living with household pets seem to reduce the chances of developing allergic disease.
It should be noted, however, that a study across 12 European countries found no relation with the use of household cleaning products and asthma, hayfever and eczema. This is not surprising, as the actual cleanliness of homes has probably changed little despite the use of these newer cleaning agents.
More research into this area is needed but current understanding seems to suggest that the immune systems of children may need some exposure to bacteria and other microbes in order to function at their best.
In other words, a little dirt never hurt anyone. We should target our hygiene practices to the areas of greatest risk, such as washing hands after going to the toilet and before handling food.”
It makes sense to me that if your immune system doesn’t have any REAL germs to fight, it’s not going to sit quietly. It’s going to start attacking stupid things like dust and pollen and peanuts.
Which germs ARE the dangerous germs? According to Environmental Nutrition, Oct 1997:
“There are four foodborne bacteria that currently concern scientists the most, according to Morris Potter, CDC's assistant director for foodborne disease. Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni are worrisome because they sicken the greatest number of people. Escherichia coli O157:H7 (the particularly virulent strain of a normally benign, ubiquitous bacteria) and Listeria monocytogenes are scary because they cause more severe, even fatal, illnesses.”
Those names sound familiar – and not at all cute.
Salmonella. Campylobacter. E. coli. Listeria.
Where do we find these?
Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals.
That’s right, they’re not on the floor. They're not on the walls. They're in your intestines. They’re in my intestines. They’re in pig and sheep and cow and chicken intestines, too.
So you can only find yourself ingesting them in one of two situations.
a) You eat your own, or some other animal’s poo
b) You eat meat from a slaughterhouse that has failed to keep the animals’ poo from contaminating the meat
You can disinfect your floor and toilet and walls and plates as much as you like, but unless you wash your HANDS after you do poos, it isn’t going to make any difference. Oh, and COOK your meat, unless you (or someone you trust) prepared it yourself and can be sure it isn’t contaminated. Cooking (bringing to a minimum temperature of 69 degrees Celcius) kills bacteria.
(Note: refrigeration doesn't, especially Listeria)
Getting to Listeria, its normal habitat is soil and rotting plants. It sometimes contaminates uncooked meats like salami and pate because of sloppy processing standards in manufacturing plants. Again, WASH your hands, only eat FRESH vegetables, and COOK your food!
One thing about Listeria is that it can keep multiplying at zero degrees Celsius, so I would also advise you to clean your fridge.
How many people clean their fridge as often as they clean their dishes? You can have a perfectly clean and sterile plate, and still get food poisoning from something you took out of your Listeria-contaminated fridge.
Here Endeth The Lesson. Disinfectant cleaning product advertisements are yet another scare campaign to make you think you need something that you don’t. Bacteria live everywhere – you yourself are a comfortable high-rise apartment block for them.
And there’s nothing wrong with leaving it that way.
That’s how the saying goes, right?
Peruse the aisles of the local supermarket and you will see products such as Palmolive Antibacterial Dishwashing Liquid, Sanaseat Flushable Anti-Bacterial Toilet Seat Wipes and Selleys Proactive Floor Cleaner. They all contain ingredients that kill “up to 99% of bacteria.”
They’re designed to make not just your floors, but your walls, your dishes and even your toilet seat clean enough to eat off!
But wait a minute. Didn’t we talk earlier about deliberately putting bacteria into yoghurt, and it being good for us? Obviously, not all bacteria are created equal. Are these disinfectants going to protect us from dangerous bacteria? Or can we do that simply by following a few basic hygiene rules?
Flynn Picardal, an associate professor in Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, reflects on the poor public image of bacteria, at Newsinfo ( Really Long Link ) :
“People typically think of bacteria in terms of disease, but only a small percentage of bacteria are harmful to human health. The vast majority perform vital environmental maintenance. Our existence really depends on bacteria, and our ability to clean up toxic environmental waste is going to depend on them too.”
At EMSL Analytical, Inc., there is a very handy glossary (Click here ) of various types of bacteria. You’ll note very few of them are harmful (“pathological”) to humans.
Some of them even sound cute, like Erwinia and Weeksella. You can imagine having a puppy called Weeksella. Awww. Weeksella, sit!
Another fascinating table, here ( Really Long Link ), from a Textbook of Bacteriology, shows how many bacteria live as normal flora on our skin and in our orifices, without hurting us and without us even knowing.
If you look in the column that says “mouth,” you’ll find a delightful bag of allsorts, including Staphylococcus (including the infamous golden staph), Streptococcus and Pseudomonas.
What’s the point of taking something from a clean and sterile plate (with your clean and sterile hands) and putting it into your Bacterial Zoo of a mouth?
Streptococcus from someone's mouth
If you don’t think the germs sound cute and you want to get rid of them, the Victorian Government assures us that ( Really Long Link ):
“Soap and water is just as effective. Healthy households do not need these products. Effective hand washing with soap and household cleaning using warm water and a plain detergent is the cheapest way to get rid of germs. Avoid antibacterial or antimicrobial products; they are more expensive, no more effective at cleaning and their widespread use may pose a wider health risk.”
What health risk are they talking about? The link between having sterile households and a dodgy immune system that reacts to non-dangerous substances (ie, allergies and asthma), of course!
“This is based on the observations that growing up in a large family, being in child care from a young age and living with household pets seem to reduce the chances of developing allergic disease.
It should be noted, however, that a study across 12 European countries found no relation with the use of household cleaning products and asthma, hayfever and eczema. This is not surprising, as the actual cleanliness of homes has probably changed little despite the use of these newer cleaning agents.
More research into this area is needed but current understanding seems to suggest that the immune systems of children may need some exposure to bacteria and other microbes in order to function at their best.
In other words, a little dirt never hurt anyone. We should target our hygiene practices to the areas of greatest risk, such as washing hands after going to the toilet and before handling food.”
It makes sense to me that if your immune system doesn’t have any REAL germs to fight, it’s not going to sit quietly. It’s going to start attacking stupid things like dust and pollen and peanuts.
Which germs ARE the dangerous germs? According to Environmental Nutrition, Oct 1997:
“There are four foodborne bacteria that currently concern scientists the most, according to Morris Potter, CDC's assistant director for foodborne disease. Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni are worrisome because they sicken the greatest number of people. Escherichia coli O157:H7 (the particularly virulent strain of a normally benign, ubiquitous bacteria) and Listeria monocytogenes are scary because they cause more severe, even fatal, illnesses.”
Those names sound familiar – and not at all cute.
Salmonella. Campylobacter. E. coli. Listeria.
Where do we find these?
Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals.
That’s right, they’re not on the floor. They're not on the walls. They're in your intestines. They’re in my intestines. They’re in pig and sheep and cow and chicken intestines, too.
So you can only find yourself ingesting them in one of two situations.
a) You eat your own, or some other animal’s poo
b) You eat meat from a slaughterhouse that has failed to keep the animals’ poo from contaminating the meat
You can disinfect your floor and toilet and walls and plates as much as you like, but unless you wash your HANDS after you do poos, it isn’t going to make any difference. Oh, and COOK your meat, unless you (or someone you trust) prepared it yourself and can be sure it isn’t contaminated. Cooking (bringing to a minimum temperature of 69 degrees Celcius) kills bacteria.
(Note: refrigeration doesn't, especially Listeria)
Getting to Listeria, its normal habitat is soil and rotting plants. It sometimes contaminates uncooked meats like salami and pate because of sloppy processing standards in manufacturing plants. Again, WASH your hands, only eat FRESH vegetables, and COOK your food!
One thing about Listeria is that it can keep multiplying at zero degrees Celsius, so I would also advise you to clean your fridge.
How many people clean their fridge as often as they clean their dishes? You can have a perfectly clean and sterile plate, and still get food poisoning from something you took out of your Listeria-contaminated fridge.
Here Endeth The Lesson. Disinfectant cleaning product advertisements are yet another scare campaign to make you think you need something that you don’t. Bacteria live everywhere – you yourself are a comfortable high-rise apartment block for them.
And there’s nothing wrong with leaving it that way.
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Comment by Louie
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
eat lots of yogurt
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
And soap water was the clear winner!
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Yes, yes YES! Vindication at last! I have been spouting off to any one that'll listen for years about how I think that the increase in food allergies is directly linked to overly sterile homes.
Exposure to some dirt and bacteria is essential to the development of a healthy immune system.
Comment by Thoraiya Dyer
Demented World
Cibbuano: Yeah, we did the same experiment in our very first pathology class...soapy water was indeed the winner, though I was surprised to see how good the water by itself was. I guess bacteria don't cling on with whips and axes like Indiana Jones
Ruby: Are you going to finish that mud pie?